I have a fondness for pinwheels (doesn’t everybody?)—they’re fun and whimsical, and remind me of my childhood. But instead of plastic or paper pinwheels, I wanted to decorate with something a little more grown up. These brass pinwheels are fun and easy to make, and are the perfect way to dress up a frosted cake.

Click through for the step-by-step instructions…

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I am totally in love with the foliage trend. Leaf prints and watercolors and bouquets of only ferns and foliage are hitting the ground running this Spring. I wanted to make some simple napkin rings that could bring a little more of the trend to the table. Like brass wall art from the seventies, these brass leaves glam up even the simplest of spring brunches. I am making a set for Easter this year and probably a few extra for friends. Making these brass napkin rings is as easy as cutting paper, really.

Are you planning to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? Worried you have to put a shamrock on it? Why not keep it simple and fun with this fringe garland? Just a little pop of green (or a lot) can set off a great party. Garland can be a tricky thing and depending on how large your space is, you could end up needing a lot to have the space feel full. These garlands are wider than the standard and create more dimension which helps you need less of them. These look great from the side and from below and have a circus tent feel. Alternately, you could tell the kiddos that these are leprechaun roads. Either way, you can make two 7 foot garlands from one pack of crepe paper, which is about $1.25, talk about a lot of bang for your party budget.

Whether you are looking for a quick splash of color for your next party or coordinating the perfect pattern into your wedding, a simple favor bag is the answer. Find your favorite fabric online, at your local yardage shop or make your own on Spoonflower, and easily customize this simple bag. No real sewing skills needed, just the ability to sew a straight line, two straight lines to be exact. Once you master these simple steps, you can make just a few for your next bridal shower or a bunch for your wedding. You can even use this tutorial to create fabric bags for gift giving, all you will need to do is adjust the measurements for the size bag you need.

I love paper coasters and use them for everything. I also love metallics like gold and copper foil. I’ve foiled before, and if you have tried you know it can be tricky and messy. I am a fan of the short cut and instant gratification so I wanted to try something simpler and quicker. Double stick tape saves the day and makes it super simple to decorate anything, like these bar cart staples, drink coasters, with fun foiled shapes. In seconds you can take a plain paper coaster to a fun and modern one with no dry time. These would make great hostess gifts or just to keep on hand for any impromptu party.

Step 1: Choose your favorite foil color, I found these packaged sheets in gold, copper and silver and snag some paper coasters from your local stamp and craft shop.

Step 2: Use scissors to cut geometric shapes out of double stick tape. You can cut simple dashes or these diamonds by taking a piece of tape and cutting an angle. Press tape on coaster in a random pattern.

Step 3: Once you have decorated your coaster with your tape pattern it is time to add the foil. Each foiling sheet has a right side (pretty foil color) and a wrong side (grey striped). With the copper/metallic (right) side face up, press the foiling sheet on top of your coaster. Rub with your finger firmly until all the foil has adhered to all of the tape on the coaster. Miss a spot? Simply recover the spot with an unused part of the foil sheet and press until filled.

This technique could be used in so many ways. Try it to make easy stripes, sheets of foiled wrapping paper, decorate the rim of a cake stand and more. I want to try my hand at exciting shapes with double sided adhesive sheets and cool fonts. Whatever you use it for, this is by far the easiest way to foil anything.

You might not have seen it coming but I am calling it now, disco balls are hot. I’m sure your Pinterest feed is filled with them. Stay on trend and add a touch of sparkle and fun to your bar cart or next party and make these easy disco ball swizzle sticks. I found mini (teeny tiny) disco balls at my local party store which also carries a variety of disco balls and goodies for displays. These tiny disco balls have real tiny glass squares for extra sparkle. The squares are on a styrofoam ball so attaching them is really simple.These would pair nicely for Valentine’s Day with this heart disco ball last week.

You will need:

tiny disco balls (1 1/8″ diameter) *note for searching, these are also called mirror balls.

bamboo skewers

glue

Step 1: Figure out how many stirrers you would like to make. The assembly goes really easy so if you want to give these out as hostess gifts, you can make a bunch really fast.

Step 2: Pull out the hanging cord. These will come out super easy. Enlarge the hole by pressing the flat end of the skewer into the hole. Be careful not to push in too deep or you will pop out the other side. If this happens, just press the popped out part back in. Pull out skewer.

Step 3: Place a drop of glue, just regular old school glue works great, on the flat end of the skewer.

Step 4: Press the glued end into the hole on the disco ball. Let Dry. Repeat for remaining skewers.

Step 5: I used full length skewers for these disco ball drink stirrers. This is so I can trim them to the size I need depending on the glasses I use. Trim the bottom of the skewers with really sharp kitchen shears or leave long for a great pitcher stir stick. Swap the skewer out for acrylic sticks and you have party stirrer that you can use over and over.

I just think disco balls are fun and add the tiniest bit of sparkle to your party. At this size, they aren’t too over the top, but still make even your everyday glass of wine just a little more special.

Valentine’s Day is coming up fast and now is the time to plan something really cool and fun to do for your loved ones. This year I am sending Valentine’s to my best girl friends. One of them will be this little heart disco ball. She’s about 8″ in diameter which is the perfect size. I heart disco balls. What’s better than a disco ball valentine? I dusted off my disco ball and added a bright red heart. Who wouldn’t want one? This DIY is one of the easiest I’ve ever done. Keeping the heart pixelated not only makes it look really cool, but even the less than occasional painter can create it. Let’s do this!

So, I haven’t quite finished all of my shopping yet, but I have already started wrapping. Since my wrapping paper theme this year is all about the merry and bright, I knew I needed something fun for the top. I love working with crepe paper to make flowers and I wanted to try to make a poinsettia. It is quick and easy and since I am using crepe paper streamers, incredibly cost effective. I love the off-white cream shade with a pop of gold tinsel in the center.

Sure there are tissue poufs and paper lanterns, but sometimes you just want something a little different. Since I will never tire of pops of color hanging from the ceiling, I wanted to make something a bit different. These are like those little paper ball ornaments and garland that have been around for ages, but bigger. They are really pretty and when they catch a small breeze they rotate for even more shadow play. Make these in any color of the rainbow, the toughest part about this DIY is choosing a shade.

Step 2: Flip your plate upside down and trace around the outside with a pencil. You should have a perfect circle. Repeat this step for each sheet.

Step 3: Cut out circles using scissors. Hint: Save time by tracing one and cutting out four sheets at a time.

Step 4: Fold each circle in half.

Step 5: Add Glue Dots to one folded side. Stick on top, center and bottom and outer edge. Stack another folded sheet on top. Press down to secure.

Step 6: Add more dots and repeat until all sheets form one big ball. Hang with fishing line.

Big decorations give you oodles of impact for your party with minimal effort. You can make these party balls in any size you like, use the same idea to make the standard ball and turn it into a garland or teensy as a cupcake topper.

Another idea? Don’t forget the space under your dessert table or bar cart, you can hang things there too! It is like a surprise for your guests to find party decor in unexpected places.

Love fonts? I’m nuts about them and judging all the pins around Pinterest, there are a few others that are too. Minted has an amazing assortment of fonts to choose from and they inspired this simple yet fun way to update sugar cookies. Pick a font, any font and turn it into a cookie. Easier than pie. These would be perfect for a place setting for Thanksgiving or just a fun way to add interest to that standby plate of sugar cookies. I am not the best cookie decorator, so this easy bake it and leave it plain, is perfect for me.

Step 1: Add some letters to a word document or in Illustrator. Blow the letter up, these are about 400 pt. Add more letters. Print and cut out each letter with scissors.

Step 2: Make your cookie dough and chill as directed. Roll out a small amount of dough, enough for one or two letters, to about 1/3″ thick. Place cut out letter on top and carefully cut around your template with the tip of the knife. Trim excess close to outside of the letter and place on cookie sheet. Leaving most of the dough surrounding the cookie as you move it from the table to the cookie sheet is the key to keeping delicate letters from stretching out. Once on the cookie sheet, remove the excess dough revealing the letter and smooth any bumpy edges with a toothpick or your finger. Repeat with remaining letters.

Step 3: Bake for about 8 mins (see recipe for details), watching it for the 2-3 remaining minutes very carefully. Remember to only bake similar sized and thickness cookies. Thin script shaped cookies will cook faster than bold san serif cookies. Let cool.

You could use these cookies to top presents, make an edible garland or just for fun at your next party. Stick a few in the top of a cake as a monogram for a wedding or just make pretty cookies. If you are an icing superstar, these could really become showstoppers. I like the plain version, I think it is a pretty sweet DIY. (ha)